"Hear me out, everyone. Beyond the first two points, there are several other evolutionary hurdles to consider," Arthur Lambert said, holding up a third finger.
"Third: the emergence of intelligent life. We still don't know if sentience is a biological inevitability or a freak accident. After all, dinosaurs dominated the Old World for 150 million years without showing any signs of developing higher intelligence. For prehistoric creatures, brute strength and sharp teeth were far more critical for survival than a large brain."
"Therefore, the dawn of intelligence could be a massive anomaly. Among the millions of species that have existed on our home planet, only humans ever achieved true sentience."
Jason nodded from the audience. The logic was sound. There were an estimated thirty to fifty million species of life on Earth, and billions more throughout history, yet only one achieved higher intelligence. That strongly implied sentience was an incredibly low-probability event.
